The Tuscan

Do You Recognize This Man?

2009-04-20T20:45:00.001-06:00

Evelyn Melchin's 86th Birthday

2009-01-12T23:53:00.001-07:00

Here are a few photos from Grandma Melchin's 86ht birthday.

The Many Faces of Matthew Wolff

2009-01-06T11:29:00.000-07:00

Christmas 2008

2008-12-22T16:55:00.002-07:00

Here's a photo of Hannah with Santa Clause. I've posted a few more over at Flickr.

My First Shell Script

2008-12-22T13:40:00.002-07:00

Here's little script I wrote to setup a Subversion repository and a Trac project. This is my first shell script, and it doesn't include any error handling -- so don't hate.


#!/bin/bash

#***************************
# Initialize a new SVN repository and TRAC project
# Scott Wolff (scott.wolff@tuscan.ca)
# last edit: December 22, 2008
#***************************

# edit these paths for your own environment
SVN_PATH='/path/to/your/svn/folder/' #dont forget the trailing slash
TRAC_PATH='/path/to/your/trac/folder/' #again, with the trailing slash

# you should not need to edit below this comment

echo Enter Your Project Name
read PROJECT_NAME

REPOS_PATH=$SVN_PATH/$PROJECT_NAME
TRAC_PROJECT_PATH=$TRAC_PATH/$PROJECT_NAME

# create the SVN repository and change the permissions
sudo svnadmin create $REPOS_PATH
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data $REPOS_PATH

# create the TRAC project
sudo trac-admin $TRAC_PATH$PROJECT_NAME initenv $PROJECT_NAME 'sqlite:db/trac.db' 'svn' $REPOS_PATH '/usr/share/trac/templates'
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data $TRAC_PROJECT_PATH

Apple Store Market Mall

2008-10-16T10:54:00.003-06:00

Matt and I had some fun at the new Market Mall Apple Store.

Playing in the Leaves

2008-10-06T09:03:00.001-06:00

Erin's Latest Cake

2008-09-25T15:55:00.000-06:00

Here's a photo of Erin's latest cake.

Wide Mouth Mason - One of my favorite bands.

2008-09-18T17:05:00.004-06:00

I really like Wide Mouth Mason. One of my life's dreams is to sing on stage with these guys. I found this song widget on their website. Have a listen. I recommend starting with song #2 - "Lay Me Down", definitely in my top 10 favorite songs of all time.

Hannah at the Calgary Public Library

2008-09-15T13:45:00.001-06:00

Rails Active Record Assocications

2008-07-23T21:42:00.002-06:00

From Agile Development with Ruby on Rails:

"There’s an easy way to remember where to put belongs_to declarations: if a table has foreign keys, the corresponding model should have a belongs_to for each."

Never look this up again!

Wolff Family Video

2008-07-04T16:59:00.002-06:00

I quickly whipped up a video of photos of the kids taken over the past several year. The video is nothing much, but still fun to watch.

Early Morning Run

2008-05-26T09:26:00.002-06:00

I got up at 5:00 AM this morning and ran most of the Cochrane half marathon track. My Nike Plus tracker logged me at just over 19 KMs:

The trail is actually quite nice, right along the river, then up past Rick's development and out West of town.

Now off to work.

No Words...

2008-05-22T11:43:00.000-06:00

May 20, 2008

2008-05-21T01:09:00.002-06:00

Kevin and I went out tonight to see the latest Narnia Movie "Prince Caspian". It was nice to be out together, we don't get out very frequently like that. The movie was enjoyable; it gave me cause to reminisce about reading the Narnia series to Grace a couple of years ago.

One of the parts of this particular installment of the Narnia series I remember from reading the books was when Trumpkin (the dwarf) killed the bear. I was telling Kev about it after the movie but couldn't remember the wording very well, so I came home and looked it up.

I'm posting it here, mostly for Kevin -- C.S. Lewis says it so much more eloquently than me.

After the bear is killed Lucy says to Susan,

"Wouldn't it be dreadful if some day, in our own world, at home, men started going wild inside, like the animals here, and still looked like men, so that you'd never know which were which?"

Victoria Day Hike 2008: Heart Creek

2008-05-19T17:52:00.007-06:00

Grace, Matt and I spent Victoria Day hiking (along with many others from the ward) on the Heart Creek trail just outside of Canmore, Alberta. Thanks to Derek Kearl for organizing this event annually for the 6^th time.

I took some photos, albeit not very many and not very good ones ... I've published the Heart Creek photoset on Flickr.

The trail was perfect for Matt and Grace -- they really enjoyed themselves. They especially loved the four or five foot-bridges that criss-crossed the river all the way to the trail's end.

The hike couldn't have been more than an hour to the end of a very well groomed/maintained trail, where there was an clearing next to a bend in the creek and a waterfall crevasse.

I was quite proud of Gracie for venturing up with the kids onto a rock ledge about 25 feet above the trail's end. She went up without being coaxed, totally unassisted, and consciously overcoming any fear she normally has of this sort of thing. It was a good confidence builder for her.

Matt on the other hand was half way up the ledge before he was aware of any danger. Thank you Jeff Mysyk for helping him reach the top before I could get there to help.

After some lunch, some of the hikers went on a bit further up a less traveled trail, but a group of us turned around and went back. After the hike, everyone returned to the Tuscany Club for a bit of a BBQ. The whether turned a bit cold, so the picnic broke up just after 5:00 PM.

Walk in the Ravine

2008-05-18T16:08:00.002-06:00

The kids and I went for a walk in the ravine this afternoon. I'm glad they're feeling well enough to go. I think the kids have basically recovered from the past week of sickness -- unfortunately I can't say the same about Erin. She's trying to get up and around, but she's still very dizzy and nauseated.

Twitter

2008-05-11T21:31:00.003-06:00

I've been experimenting with Twitter lately. Twitter is a free micro-blogging application for posting very short updates -- it has a posting limit of 140 characters. Basically you post one sentence updates (called "tweets" in Twitter lingo)... dumb name, I know.

Check out my Twitter page to get a better idea.

The Twitter page on it's own doesn't do it justice. The fun of Twitter is that you can "tweet" from your mobile phone, instant messenger client (like MSN or gTalk), or one of several third party Twitter software applications (I use Twhirl). Furthermore you can subscribe or "follow" other Twitter users and receive their "tweets" automatically. It's a fun way to stay connected in real time.

Try out Twitter by signing up at the Twitter signup page, then add me to your Twitter list (my username is rswolff). If you get the hang of it, you can download and install Twhirl to get automatic updates from those you're following.

Erin's Latest Cake and the Calgary Zoo

2008-05-04T16:32:00.003-06:00

Some photos of our trip to the Calgary Zoo.

And Erin's latest cake:

Flickr Does Video

2008-05-02T11:59:00.002-06:00

I was pleased to read that Flickr accepts video now. Cool!

Erin's Final Cake

2008-04-30T22:24:00.002-06:00

Erin has completed a cake decorating class that she's been attending for the past 12 weeks. Check out the photos of her final cake. Nicely done honey!

Sailing on the Fury IV

2008-04-28T12:21:00.005-06:00

On April 22-26 2008, I was fortunate to spend some time at sea (along with David Salmon, Tony Stephen, Ian Wardrop and Steve Kunn) on Stephen Miller's boat the "Fury IV".

For the impatient I've posted the photo set of the sailing trip on Flickr. I've also posted the GPS log of the trip to Google Maps.

Our group left Calgary shortly after 7:30 PM on Tuesday April 22 and drove through the night arriving in time to board the first ferry (6:30 AM) on Wednesday morning over to Vancouver Island. After picking up the zodiac and purchasing some supplies in Duncan, we were on our way to Genoa Bay where the Fury IV is docked. By roughly 2:00 PM local time we were motoring toward our first stop: Montaghue Harbor. Steve Kunn was the first to man the helm, and Dave was navigator.

Most of the first day was spent settling in, getting aquatinted with the boat and preparing for the next day where the real sailing would begin. We chose our bunks and had some lessons on the basics of the boat such as operating the hatches safely, how the galley works and proper use of the head -- that's the bathroom for all you landlubbers.

We ate lasagna for dinner on the first night (prepared and frozen in advance by Lynn Miller), and played a couple of hands of Skip-Bo before retiring.

The next morning (Wednesday) we took the Zodiac over to the Montague Harbor provincial park for a little land exploration. The park had about at 1.7 KM trail circling part of the island (see map). It was on the solid ground of Montague Harbor that we were able to get our one and only group photo.

Some of the group (including Steve Miller) walked around the loop, and subsequently challenged Tony and I to run the loop. Tony and I ran the loop in 10 minutes, and when we made it back around to the begining and met up with the others, Tony thought we could run it faster and so he convinced me to run it with him again -- this time with a goal to run in seven minutes rather than ten. Truthfully, I didn't want to run it, but I wasn't going to let Tony show me up in front of the guys -- so off we went.

Sure enough we ran the loop in seven minutes -- Tony finished about 10 seconds before I did, but honestly I was just glad to finnish -- we pushed really hard. Had I been alone I would have walked the last third of the trail but I couldn't bear to finish too far behind Tony. I've got to hand it to him, he's in great shape.

After exploring the park, we returned to the boat for some sailing. We were all excited as we boarded the boat and could feel the wind gathering in the bay. For the most part it was grey, but not too cloudy, the sun even broke through from time-to-time. I felt most comfortable wearing my windbreaker jacket and toque, but some felt comfortable in shorts.

It was quite a thrill to shut off the motor and raise the sails for the first time. For a guy (me) who has never lived next to a large body of water, it was kind of like being in a sailing movie when we started to raise the sails. I have to confess that pulling up those sails made me feel like a legitimate sailor. Ian manned the helm for most of the second day, and Dave continued to navigate.

Tony (an experienced fisherman) had been looking forward to some fishing, and was anxious to catch some seafood for dinner, so after getting firmly under sail he and Steve Kunn motored out on the zodiac, but unfortunately after several hours of fishing, came back empty handed -- this proved to be a recurring theme for the very confident fisherman.

While Tony and Steve Kunn were fishing, Steve Miller gave Dave, Ian and I a bit of a sailing lesson. We learned about "tacking" and "gybing", about wind direction, stopping the boat intentionally and stopping the boat unintentionally ("being in irons"). We learned what it mean to "fall off" and how to read a tell-tail. I especially enjoyed setting and operating the sails.

After the sailing lesson, Steve Miller moved down to the galley to prepare lunch, and left Dave, Ian and me to operate the boat on our own. This was particularly fun. We were able to catch the wind sufficiently to tilt the boat to roughly 26 degrees. The sensation you get when the boat heels this way is hard to describe. You feel as though the boat is going to tip right out of the water, and though I was certain it wouldn't, I still felt safer holding on. It's really quite thrilling.

At one point during one of these tacks, the boat had tilted sufficiently to cause the lunch that Steve Miller was preparing to fall all over the floor and to break two of the four gallon water jugs. This was right about the time that Steve yelled up from the galley, "Ian, turn into the wind". Ian was clever enough to figure out that doing so would stop the boat. Nice work Ian.

This photo was taken by Tony and Steve Kunn from the zodiac as they were fishing. If you look close, you can see the boat tipping.

When Tony and Steve Kunn returned from fishing (empty handed I might add), some of us gathered around the cabin table for a some knot tying. I set out on the trip hoping to learn about how to operate the ships rigging, and how to tie six different knots. I did in-fact learn some about the sails and rigging and learned far more than six knots. I learned to tie a bowline, cow hitch, clove hitch, reef knot, roling clove hitch, double-overhand knot, figure-eitgh, sheep-shank and a fisherman's knot among others.

After some practice sailing, we set our course for Clam Bay, where we would spend the second night.

Anchoring at Clam Bay turned out to be one of the highlights of the whole trip. While setting the anchor we inadvertently got the line that was towing the zodiac caught in the sailboat prop. It was about this time that everyone became quiet, and hoped that the trip wasn't going to come to an unexpected end. Steve Miller lowered himself down into the zodiac and tried to dislodge the line from the prop -- it became obvious to us all that someone was going to have to jump in the 42 degree water and swim under the boat to manually remove the tangled line.

My respect for Steve Kunn doubled when he, without a moment's hesitation, volunteered to go in. He ended up spending almost ten minutes in the water and a half dozen attempts to get all of the line removed, and manually spun the prop to ensure it was free. After about five minutes I put my swimsuit on and was ready to relive him. I kept asking Steve Miller if he could confirm that Steve Kunn's legs were still moving under the boat. At those temperatures, you don't have very long before hypothermia sets in. Afterward it took Steve Kunn about 2 hours to warm up completely, and we all agreed that he was the hero of the day.

That night we had bar-b-q'ed tenderloin steak & mushrooms, baked potatoes and Ceasar salad. The food was incredible. Yes, believe it or not there is a BBQ on the boat.

After cleaning up dinner we all sat together and told the story of how we each met and married our spouse. I was impressed to learn that Steve Kunn waited for Becky to serve a mission to Thailand, that Steve Miller met and was engaged to Lynn in only a few weeks and that Tony followed Sassa to Ricks college for one semester to get her to marry him.

The next day I was awoke to the image of Tony showing off the crab he caught in the crab trap he had set the night before.

That morning, all but Steve Miller and I went exploring in the zodiac. Steve and I sat on deck and figured out how to put the fourth sail up. When the others were back on board we took the Genoa sail down, and replaced it with two foresails. We did this more for the fun of experimentation than for any other legitimate sailing reason. If nothing else, the four sail configuration did look cool.

Before leaving Clam Bay we each took a turn donning the harness and climbing to the top of the main mast (a height of about 55 feet). Steve Miller belayed. At the top of the mast, even the slightest rock of the boat is amplified. It's a neat sensation being up that high and feeling so loose. I'm not really good with heights, and I had to keep telling myself just to put one foot into the next stirrup until I reached the top. Each of us touched the topmost piece of the mast before coming back down.

This is a photo Dave Salmon took from the top of the main mast.

Just before noon we were sailing from Clam Bay back to the marina at Genoa Bay. We ate a hearty stew for lunch. Just for fun, I suggested that we take the two foresails down and put the Genoa back up. It didn't take Steve Miller much convincing... after all, that's the fun of sailing.

The sail back home was fairly straighforward. By that time we were all getting more comfortable with the operation of the boat, and got into a groove as we tacked back and forth. As we rounded Saltspring Island close to the town of Ladysmith, we came upon about a half dozen dolphins who swam beside us and leaped out of the water to entertain us. They stayed with us for more than five minutes.

We arrived at the dock in Genoa after 5:00 PM and spent the next hour and a half unloading and shutting down the boat. I have to admit that I was quite impressed how Steve Miller docked this enormous boat without a flaw. It was functionally equivalent to landing a plane without a bump. Most impressive!

We boarded the 10:45 PM ferry in Duke Point and were on the Trans-Canada back to Calgary just before 1:00 AM on Saturday April 26. We took turns driving through the night and arrived back in Calgary at about 1:30 PM on Saturday afternoon.

I've now been to sea. I'm a sailor.

April Snows Bring May Showers

2008-04-11T09:14:00.002-06:00

If you can believe it, it snowed more than six inches yesterday -- April 10. I had fun with the kids in the back yard when I got home from work rolling a giant snowball. We rolled almost all of the snow off the yard into one enormous ball.

Erin is enjoying round three of her cake decorating class. Here's a photo of her most recent work:

Importing MS/Win Excel Data Into MySQL on Mac OS X

2008-04-02T17:18:00.004-06:00

I've got to write this down somewhere. It seems like every-time I have to do this I waste an hour trying to make this work.

Here are the steps for exporting MS Win/Excel data into a MySQL database hosted on Mac OS 10.5

Save the Excel data as a tab delimited file, and move the file to the Mac OS (for some reason I've found more consitant success starting from a tab delimited file than with a .csv.
Open the Excel tab delimited file in Numbers spreadsheet program and export as CSV. Doing this seems to work out any WIN/Mac file formatting errors.

Run the following command at the terminal in the Mac OS


load data local infile
-> '~/filename.csv' into table tablename
-> fields terminated by ','
-> lines terminated by '\n'
-> (field_1, field_2, field_n);

The statement above assumes your data is separated by comas, and lines are terminated by the newline character; field_1, field_2, field_n are positional -- that is, whatever column comes first in filename.csv will be mapped to the field_1, whatever comes second in filename.csv will be mapped to field_2 etc...

Never look this up again.

Erin's Cakes

2008-03-08T21:27:00.001-07:00

Erin has been taking a cake decorating class on Wednesday evenings for the past several weeks. Check out her work...

Switched To Shaw

2008-02-19T19:25:00.002-07:00

I've been a Telus Internet customer for several years now ... (easily 10 years), and today we switched to Shaw.

Check out the speed test I ran on our new connection.

Sweet!

February 13, 2008

2008-02-13T20:33:00.002-07:00

I've started reading the Chronicals of Narnia to the kids again. Matt listens in this time, (last time only Grace listened). That said, Matt is normally asleep by the end of the first paragraph, Grace can make it almost to the end of a chapter.

I love the Narnia books. C.S. Lewis is easily one of my favorite authors. His writing is so clear and simple, he makes complex subjects very plain.

We're about half way through the first book, "The Magician's Nephew". Tonight I read the chapter on the creation of Narnia by Aslan the lion. Lewis is so insightful and articulate.

The kids like me to read to them, but the truth is, I'm reading mostly for me -- I enjoy the books far more than the kids do.

Calgary Alberta West Stake Boundaries

2008-02-02T09:02:00.001-07:00

Here are the Calgary Alberta West Stake Boundaries as at Jan 2008

View Larger Map

Chunky Bacon

2008-01-29T12:10:00.000-07:00

Ok, watch, laugh, repeat...

Sledding

2008-01-20T07:48:00.000-07:00

I took Matt and Grace sledding yesterday. Here are a few photos.

Skating at the Tuscany Club

2008-01-01T16:41:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of Matt skating at the Tuscany Club today.

December 28, 2007

2007-12-28T07:16:00.000-07:00

Christmas has come and gone yet again. This year all the Melchins were in town for Christmas. We had the "12 days of Christmas" feast as usual, and also had the most complete Nativity pageant to date. My mother and father came for the festivities (as they have done for the past 10 years), and my dad took all the photos (see Flickr photoset here). Somehow I forgot my camera for both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Annie and Grace continue to spend every possible minute together. Grace cried herself to sleep last night after Annie left to go back to Utah.

Grace gave a talk in Sunday School last week (the Sunday before Christmas). She spoke about the birth of Christ, and his resurrection. She stood at the podium and read her talk by herself -- all the adults came in to see her. She was great.

I've taken Matt and Grace out skating three or four times this week. They absolutely love it. By the third outing both Grace and Matt are able to balance themselves and walk/glide around the ice on their own. I took Matt out on the big ice with a hockey stick and puck. He and I passed the puck back and forth. Each time Matt passed the puck he fell over -- but he was having the time of his life. I'm hoping to get them out three or four times a week for most of the winter season.

Sean, Cade and I went skiing at Sunshine Village yesterday. The weather left something to be desired (it was cloudy most of the day, and quite cold), but we had a fun time together.

This year dad made a hardcover book of Wolff family photos and gave one to Kevin and me. The book is quite incredible, It was easily the hit of Christmas.

5 Minutes I'll Never Have Back

2007-11-01T21:16:00.000-06:00

Here's 5 minutes of my life I'll never have back... why, oh... why couldn't I stop watching this until the end?

Nike Plus

2007-10-29T07:30:00.000-06:00

Please forgive my bragging...

October 28, 2007

2007-10-28T17:08:00.000-06:00

October 23, 2007

2007-10-23T22:31:00.000-06:00

I arrived in Denver today, and promptly went for a run. I ran west from the Marriott hotel towards Highlands Ranch, and decided to press on and run to Keri's house. The run was just under 10 kilometers, but I looped around for a bit to bring it pretty close to 10K.

It feels good to run.

The chart above is taken from my Nike+ iPod attachment. I ran 9.91 KM in about 56 minutes. The dip in the graph is when I had to stop at a stop light. The stop really hurt my overall time. Oh well, it was fun anyway.

2007 Pumpkin Giveaway

2007-10-21T06:59:00.000-06:00

This Saturday was the 2007 annual pumpkin giveaway. Erin and I took the kids... we've been to this event each year since it started. It's always cold, unfortunately.

Here are the photos I took this year and last year:

Here's a photo from Matt at last year's event:

Kananaskis Lodge

2007-10-13T16:39:00.000-06:00

Having a great time at the Kananaskis Lodge with Lara & Sean. We spent the night in the hot tub and steam room, then this morning the girls went for a spa treatment while Sean and I hiked the Centennial Ridge Trail. We're off to Banff for dinner and shopping.

Check out my Flickr photos here.

Check out my Flickr photos.

Fastest 6K

2007-09-26T22:17:00.001-06:00

Dinner With The Reids

2007-09-23T21:10:00.001-06:00

Health First Dental Launched

2007-09-22T18:33:00.001-06:00

My brother-in-law, Sean Freiberg, recently launched a website for Health First Dental, his dental practice in Calgary (map). His website can be found at www.healthfirstdental.com . Dr. Freiberg practices biological dentistry, which is a total health approach to dentistry that among other things doesn't use mercury or fluoride in any part of the treatment.

Dr. Freiberg also does cosmetic dentistry and dental implants and sedation dentistry. See some of his before and after photos here. If you're looking for a dentist, I highly recommend Dr. Freiberg. You can even request an appointment online.

Overheard

2007-09-05T09:50:00.000-06:00

This morning I managed to sqeeze in a 6k run before taking Gracie to school. I was dripping with sweat in the car and the following conversation took place:

Grace: "Dad, you're going to make people embarassed by being so
sweaty"

Scott: "Yes, I suppose you're right"

Matt: "When mom walks or runs she doesn't get sweaty"

Grace: "That's because ladies don't sweat"

Funny.

Opal Ridge

2007-09-04T07:36:00.000-06:00

Sean and I hiked Opal Ridge on Labor Day (see my Flikr photoset here). It was very steep, easily the steepest hike we've ever done (which is more difficult to manage on the decent than on the ascent), but it was also one of the best we've ever done.

The steepness of the trail made it very difficult to stay on any sort of a path. At various sections of the hike, I'm guessing most hikers just find whatever way they are most comfortable with. I nicknamed one of the crevices "the crucible", because it took me about 5 minutes to navigate a 20 foot section. Here's a picture of Sean coming through the crucible.

Looking off to the right (South), there is a treed gorge, looking to your left (North), an open valley. This is a photo of Sean looking South toward the gorge.

The photo below shows the view looking North.

Nearing the top, there is a section of about 700 meters where there is a bit of a clearing that flattens out just a bit.

As we got closer to the Ridge we saw some sheep, they didn't seem to bothered by us, but they kept their distance and eventually crossed over the ridge, and went down the other side.

We walked along the top of the ridge for about 1 kilometer to reach the peak of Opal Mountain. To the West of the ridge you can see what used to be Fortress ski resort, to the East, a very large open valley with another mountain range several kilometers away.

The mountains on the East side of the ridge are rocky and grey with no tree cover. The valley seems totally wild and secluded. As we walked along the ridge looking East toward this secluded valley, Sean wondered if we would see any other wildlife..., and sure enough within 10 minutes of reaching the top and hiking the ridge he spotted something about 2 kilometers away, black and moving away from us.

Belive it or not, that little black speck in the center of the photo is a bear. We werent' really sure whether it was a black bear or grizzly, but niether of us took comfort that the name of the alternate route back down the mountain is named "Grizzly Trail."

We reached the top and signed our names in the book. The view from the top is incredible. I'm pretty nervous of heights, but I summoned all my intestinal fortitude to rest my camera on the Inukshuk that was formed on the peak, and set the timer to take this photo of sean and I together at the top.

Here's another one of me taken facing South toward Kananaskis Lake.

After some lunch we made our way back down the mountain. I put the camera away for this part of the hike, because it was very difficult to maneuver down the steepness of the mountain. With this kind of steepnes, it's far easier going up than down.

My GPS showed that the hike was 3 kilometers to the ridge and 3.8 to the peak. The round trip took just under 6 hours.

Stephen Colbert for Prime Minister

2007-09-01T09:48:00.000-06:00

This is why Stephen Colbert is one of my favorite comedians. He's got the master blend of humor and political satire.

Enjoy.

Corbett Reunion Photos

2007-08-05T22:04:00.000-06:00

I've posted my photos from the Corbett reunion to my Flickr account.

July 1st 2007

2007-07-01T00:17:00.000-06:00

I'm sitting at the kitchen table at grandma and grandpa Gibb's home in Cardston. It's late -- almost 12:30 AM on Sunday morning, but I wanted to post my photos and write about the day.

I admit it's a bit strange being at Grandma Gibb's house.. in Cardston rather than on the farm... but oddly enough it feels comfortable. I guess Grandma's house is more about grandma than it is about the house.

We did, however, spend quite a bit of time down at Spring Glen Park and out at the farm, that was great. The kids really enjoyed themselves. The kids were looking forward the running in the races. Matt and Grace both won their respective races. Matt won by 3 or 4 horse lenghts, Graice was leading the pack until the last 5 steps when she looked to both sides and coulnd't see anyone and thought she was doing something wrong so she stopped running. I think she still placed first or maybe second. They were both very pleased.

This year has been quite nice. Matt is now old enough to roam freely about the farm without worrying Erin and me very much. In fact, Matt got on a horse (without Erin or I present) and had a ride with cousin Michelle and uncle Rob. Grace got to ride a horse also.

They also played on the swings, had a hay ride, and did all the other things we would normally do on a July 1^st weekend. I quite enjoyed riding the horse also. I got on a couple of times and as I got more comfortable I rode faster.

Dennis Gibb was there and kindly taught me how to drive a team of horses pulling a wagon. That was cool too.

After a full afternoon at the dam, then at the farm, we all mosy'ed over to the Glenwood dairy factory for some ice cream. All 45 of us. We overwhelmed the gal scooping ice cream, so finally mom asked if she wanted some help. The girl politely accepted, and mom and I got behind the counter and started filling orders.

After the ice cream we drove over to the Hill Spring chapel for our annual slide show contest. Brett Gibb won. Dad and I threw in last minute entries. Dad made his earlier in the week using old photos of the gibbs, I put mine together there at the chapel using photos from the day.

By 9:00 PM the kids were so tired we decided to take them home to bed. Matt fell asleep in the car within minutes, Hannah too, but she woke up with a fever. Grace was overtired as she frequently gets on night with so much action. It took her much longer to fall asleep.

On the way home I had to stop the car and take one last photo.

Riley Park Summer

2007-06-22T20:47:00.000-06:00

Several weeks ago I promised the kids I'd take them to Riely Park (a municipal park near my office). The park is quite large and features a playground, ampitheater and a decent sized waterpark.

When I woke up this morning, I told Matt that today was the day. He was so excited.

The weather has been very nice these last few days, (longest days of the year), and so at 7:30 PM Matt, Grace and I headed off to the waterpark. Check out my Flickr photoset.

We've been to Riely Park several times in the last couple of weeks, and I foresee going there frequently, so I've started entitled, Riely Park Summer. You can also see all Riley Park photos at a glance by browsing Flickr by the tag "Riely Park"

Father's Day 2007

2007-06-17T22:22:00.000-06:00

Rainy day today, Matt and Grace were both sick. I stayed home from church with Matt. Had a nice father's day, Grace made me a very nice card at school, then another one at work. Erin helped Matt sign his name on a card for me.

Matt starts writing his name by making the two "t"'s at the end of his name, then he makes a wierd "m" thing in front of the two "t"'s. Then, the geometric part of his brain takes over and he has to make another "m" looking thing behind the two "t"'s -- just for balance I guess.

He can't write the "a" yet.

Had Father's day dinner at mom and dad's place, Kevin and Elise were there (as usual) -- but the surprise was seeing Bretton Ried. Haven't seen Bretton in years. He looks great, and seem to be as genuinely happy as I've ever seen him. Check out my Flickr photoset.

Here's one of the girls for good measure.

Went to the Melchin's house after dinner, but the kids health got worse, and we ended up leaving after about 25 minutes. Got the kids to bed pretty quick, it's so nice when they're asleep... so nice... I slept most of the night in Matt's bed, his fever was quite bad and he was having a hard time to sleep. I fear that Gracie is in for it tonight.

Erin's gotten back into the Harry Potter books -- again. I've lost her to Harry and Hogwarts. Oh well. As I type this, she's upstairs devouring book 5.

Rules To Live By

2007-06-11T14:46:00.001-06:00

These have been hanging from the inside of Tom's cabinet at work for as long as I've known him. These will always make me think of Tom... this is so him.

1. Never kick a cow chip on a hot day
2. There are two theories to arguing with a woman, neither works.
3. Never miss a good chance to shut up.
4. Always drink upstream from the heard.
5. If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.
6. The quickest way to double your money is to fold it up and put it in your pocket.
7. There are three kinds of men: the ones who learn by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence to find out.
8. Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.
9. If you're riding ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it's still there.
10. Lettin' the cat outta tha bag is a whole lot easier'n putti'n it back.
11. After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kep it up until a hunter came along and shot him. The moral: When you're full of bull, keep your mouth shut.

The Ravine After the Flood

2007-06-08T07:37:00.000-06:00

On June 6/7 we had over 70mm rain. The city was flooded, lots of damage done (fortunately none at our house). The kids and I had a fun time exploring the ravine. We walked North along the path, rather than south like we normally do, and explored a new bend in the ravine. Check out my Flickr photoset.

The highlight of the ravine walk was when Matt slipped and fell into the ravine backwards up to his neck. I had to fight the paternal instinct to go pull him out in order get these photos.

The evening ended with a stop at the Gedlaman's house to get some towels, and me carrying both of the kids home -- Matt on my shoulders and Gracie on my back.

Fun night.

Riley Park

2007-05-31T21:04:00.000-06:00

Erin and the kids picked me up at work today (beautiful day... 28 degrees). We went over to Riley Park, a block from my office. We had a nice time -- Hannah especially, because she was able to roam.

Check out the Flickr photoset here.

First Ravine Walk of 2007

2007-05-30T23:39:00.000-06:00

We had a nice walk down to the ravine tonight. The kids really enjoyed themselves -- Erin even came which made us all happy. We had a great time despite one muddy patch that gave us some trouble. I put Hannah in the kiddie-pack on my back. The kids love exploring down in the ravine.

See the Ravine Walk Flickr photo set here.

Grandpa Wolff and Hannah

2007-05-29T00:14:00.001-06:00

Snow on May 24th 2007

2007-05-24T14:36:00.000-06:00

Incredible.

Photos from Grandpa Melchin's 86 Birthday

2007-05-16T22:57:00.000-06:00

Some photos from Grandpa Melchin's 86th birthday party.

Mother's Day 2007

2007-05-13T22:27:00.000-06:00

Happy Mother's Day Erin... and mom.

May 6, 207

2007-05-06T16:58:00.000-06:00

Black Bullets Soccer

2007-05-06T16:46:00.000-06:00

I was a lone coach this weekend at soccer, so I didn't take many photos. It's hard being the lone coach.

Tuscany Soccer 2007

2007-04-28T20:53:00.000-06:00

Both Grace and Matt started soccer today. Despite being slightly under the wheather, Gracie had a great time -- they both did.

We started at 9:30 with Matt.

Matt was so engrossed - he was instantly focused on the coach, and showed a very high level of interest in meeting the other kids and getting to kick the ball.

The U4 teams just practiced today, no game. All the kids had fun. The toughest part of the day for Matt's team was to come up with a team name. After some deliberation, they settled on, "The Black Bullets" (Erin suggested the Black Panthers, but the negative connotation threw some of the parents). Matt's going to love soccer. I've started a Flickr photo collection for the 2007 U4 season. Check back each Saturday for updated photos.

After Matt's team was done, we moved over one field for Gracie's practice. Grace hasn't been feeling well these last few days, and Erin wasn't sure if she should play today. In fact before leaving for the field, I determined that she probably shouldn't play. However, as Gracie watched Matt's team she became more and more exited to play, and by the time it was here turn we couldn't keep her away no matter how sick she felt.

I wasn't able to get as many photos of Grace and her team, the Green Aligators, because Erin had to leave and I had to step up my assistant coaching involvement during the game. The U6 division has a short practice then a game each week.

Gracie did so well. She scored three goals (only one intentionally). She got out and ran hard and, took a break as she needed to. Here she is putting on some tough defence.

I've started a Flickr photo collection of Gracie's season. Again, I'll update this each week after the game.

Denver

2007-04-05T22:07:00.000-06:00

I'm sitting here with Keri and Cade watching the Colorado Avalanche hockey game, and I'm watching Cade become as animated as I've ever seen him (he just put his feet on the coffee table, and his voice raised to something more than a whisper).

We arrived in Denver yesterday. Denver is quite a nice city, pretty, well organized, clean -- I've said to Erin several times that I could live in Denver. It's quite a contrast with the suburbs of Salt Lake, which seem to be terribly disorganized.

The kids whethered the flight alright -- Matt broke down at the end of the trip but otherwise did alright. Hannah didn't have her own seat, and so she was quite difficult to reign in. Fortunately the flight from SLC to Denver is only 52 minutes.

I've updated my Utah/Denver Flickr photo collection with some new photos.

Utah Photos

2007-04-02T09:04:00.000-06:00

Some photos of our Utah trip (flickr photoset):

Nikon SB-600

2007-03-30T17:25:00.000-06:00

I treated myself to a Nikon SB-600 flash for my D50. I'm very pleased with how it has improved my photos.

This photo was taken indoors (at the Ritchie's house in Cedar Hills, UT). In the past I've avoided taking photos indoors because of the shadows that the pop-up flash produces. But with an external flash, I'm able to tilt the flash head up and away from the subject, which produces a really nice, soft lighting.

Hot Chocolate

2007-02-05T20:54:00.000-07:00

Took some photos while drinking some hot chocolate. Matt was being quite a character. See the Flickr photoset here.

Snickers Super Bowl Commercial

2007-02-05T19:53:00.000-07:00

I didn't watch the Super Bowl this year, but I did catch the commercials today on the Internet. Far and away the best one was the Snickers ad.

Tuscany School Family Dance

2007-02-04T10:54:00.000-07:00

On February 1st, 2007 the Tuscany Elementary School held it's inaugural family dance. Gracie looked forward to the dance for weeks. The dance was really well attended, and we all had a great time. Hannah didn't dance, except when Micheal Jackson was playing (she's her father's daughter). Matt spent most of his time running around the gym.

Here's a link to my Flickr photoset.

Winter

2007-02-01T15:48:00.000-07:00

It's winter again in Calgary. Here's a photo I took this morning as I shoveled the driveway with Matt. (Note the band-aid on his head covering some stitches he received last Saturday when the kitchen stool fell and hit him in the head.)

Gracie's Sixth Birthday Video

2007-01-23T22:13:00.000-07:00

Gracie's 6th Birthday

2007-01-22T21:14:00.000-07:00

Gracie celebrated her 6^th birthday today. She had a great time. We invited the face painter who we first met at Greg Melchin's Annual BBQ (picture of Matt and Grace with painted faces). All the kids loved the face painter. Honestly we didn't have to do anything else other than let everyone line up and watch her work. Of course we also had presents, cake and ice cream... all the trimings of your run of the mill birthday party. Gracie had a really nice time, and I think the kids did too.

I've posted a Flickr photoset with a bunch of photos of the kids with painted faces, however I've made the photos private to respect the privacy of the children, and families of the children at the party. If you're interested in seeing the photos, you can register for a free Flickr account (www.flickr.com), and I'll add you to my list of contacts, which will permit you to see the pictures.

Farewell Christy and JD Taylor

2007-01-13T01:17:00.000-07:00

We had JD and Christy Taylor (and kids) over for dinner on Thursday evening one last time before they're off ot Utah. We'll be sad to see them go. Good luck in Utah!

Christmas Day Photo Booth Session

2006-12-25T13:58:00.000-07:00

We had fun this morning with Apple Photo Booth -- I seriously have not seen my mother laugh this hard in years.

See the Flickr photoset.

Christmas Eve Day 2006

2006-12-24T12:07:00.000-07:00

We had a nice morning at church -- Erin sang in the choir, and I wrestled Matt in the congregation. Thank you Wendy Shipley for walking Hannah for most of the sacrament meeting.

We managed to get a Christmas photo that worked reasonably well on the way out the door this morning. Everyone is in the photo, looking at the camera, and is smiling (or at least not crying or frowning).

Photo Booth Photos

2006-12-20T06:56:00.000-07:00

Matt and I had a lot of fun playing around with Apple Photo Booth for a while this morning. Check out our photos.

Matt and Grace

2006-12-10T20:53:00.000-07:00

Japanes Shirt Folding

2006-12-08T14:22:00.000-07:00

Ok, this is pretty impressive. I've got to learn how to do this.

Gracie Loses Her First Tooth

2006-12-06T22:00:00.000-07:00

Tonight, just before going to bed I asked Grace if I could look at her tooth (which has been very loose for several days). Surprisingly she agreed. I asked outright if I could try to pull it out -- again, surprisingly she agreed.

We're please to report that Grace has lost her first tooth. Check out the Flickr photoset here.

Hannah's First Birthday

2006-12-03T21:49:00.000-07:00

We had a nice first birthday party for Hannah. Check out the Flickr photoset.

Hannah

2006-11-29T17:36:00.000-07:00

Matt on the Computer

2006-11-15T21:58:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos I took of Matt playing on my computer on Sunday after church. He sat pleasantly at my computer for about 45 minutes listening to "Wipeout" by the Ventures. He was having the time of his life.

Glen Beck's Conversion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

2006-11-15T16:15:00.000-07:00

I normally agree with Beck's politics, ideology and philosophy -- but not really big on his dramatics or theatrics. That said, I came across this video today in which he speaks of his conversion to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and thought it was quite nice.

Calgary Flames Vs. Anaheim Ducks

2006-11-11T12:39:00.000-07:00

Sean took me to the Flames game on November 10, 2006. Flames won 3-0. The first period was pretty exciting. Check out the photos I took.

Dancing Gracie

2006-11-11T11:38:00.000-07:00

Grace, Matt, Hannah and I stayed home together the other night while Erin went out. Here' are some photos of Gracie that Matt took.

Kevin Wolff Turns 30!

2006-11-10T14:43:00.000-07:00

My brother Kevin turned 30 years old last week. Check out the photos. It's strange to think we're growing up.

Pumpkin Carving

2006-11-03T16:31:00.000-07:00

These are some of the best pumpkin carvings I have ever seen.

Ayn Rand's Objectivism

2006-11-03T09:17:00.000-07:00

I've been waist deep in "Atlas Shrugged" lately, and have become a bit obsessed with it ... again. Some have asked me to define what it is about the philosophy that I enjoy, and I recently came across this description of "Objectivism" in Rand's own words.

Reality exists as an objective absolute -- facts are facts, independent of man's feelings, wishes, hopes or fears.
Reason (the faculty which identifies and integrates the material provided by man's senses) is man's only means of perceiving reality, his only source of knowledge, his only guide to action, and his basic means of survival.
Man -- every man --is an end in himself, not the means to the ends of others. He must exist for his own sake, neither sacrificing himself to others nor sacrificing others to himself. The pursuit of his own rational self-interest and of his own happiness is the highest moral purpose of his life.
The ideal political-economic system is laissez-faire capitalism. It is a system where men deal with one another, not as victims and executioners, nor as masters and slaves, but as traders, by free, voluntary exchange to mutual benefit. It is a system where no man may obtain any values from others by resorting to physical force, and no man may initiate the use of physical force against others. The government acts only as a policeman that protects man's rights; it uses physical force only in retaliation and only against those who initiate its use, such as criminals or foreign invaders. In a system of full capitalism, there should be (but, historically, has not yet been) a complete separation of state and economics, in the same way and for the same reasons as the separation of state and church.

Halloween 2006

2006-10-31T21:16:00.000-07:00

We had a fun night on the streets of Tuscany -- there were more children out than recall seeing for several years despite the -10 degree weather. Gracie dressed as a "glow fairy" (I'm not really sure what that is), Matt was dressed as superman, and Hannah as Piglet. See my Flickr Halloween photoset.

We went around the doors next to our house, then to the Freibergs, then to my folks place -- Matt fell asleep in the car on the way to my folks place.

Atlas Shrugged

2006-10-25T10:20:00.000-06:00

I've been re-reading Atlas Shrugged, and am thoroughly enjoying it. Rick suggested I read this book several years ago, and it honestly changed my life -- or rather it enhanced or clarified my thinking on philosophy and on the concept of objective values, the meaning of words, the importance of doing what you say, the importance of intellect and ability etc...

It's good to read this sort of book more than once, there's so much to it, and over the years I now have more/different experience by which to understand the book.

I noticed Judy's post on the possibility of an Atlas Shrugged movie being produced staring Angelina Jolie as Dagny Taggart. I've heard this rumor for years -- but I bothered to do some research, and was able to confirm it (also here). I looks like Brad Pitt is actually being considered for the role of John Galt. Like Judy, I've also had fun giving consideration to who I think would do well in the movie.

Over the past few years, I've been casting the movie as I read the book. Here's what I've come up with (this is subject to change as I give it some more consideration):

Dagny Taggart -- Jennifer Connelly (younger) or Catherin Zeta-Jones (older).
John Galt -- Orlando Bloom (younger)
Hank Rearden -- Clive Owen (drop the accent)
Fransisco D'Anconia -- Lou Diamond Phillips (they'd have to make him look South American)
James Taggart -- James Woods
Lillian Rearden -- Sigourney Weaver
Eddie Willers -- Ewan McGreggor or John Cusak
Ragnar Daneshold -- Heath Ledger
Bertram Scudder --
Orin Boyle -- Allan Rickman
Wesley Mouch -- Geoffrey Rush
Paul Larkin --
Dr. Floyd Ferris -- Matthew Broderick
Robert Stadler -- Kevin Spacey
Hugh Axton --
Wyatt Ellis -- Matthew McConnaghey
Midas Mulligan -- Nicholas Cage
Quentin Daniels -- Christian Bale
(able train worker guy) -- Josh Duhamel

Others I would like to see in the movie but not sure exactly where they fit in: Rober DeNiro, Cate Blanchett, Parker Posey (as James Taggart's bride).

2006 Annual Pumpkin Giveaway

2006-10-24T21:51:00.000-06:00

On Saturday Grace, Matt and I went to the annual "Great Pumpkin Giveaway" which is held by a local real estate agent. This event began four or five years ago, and to my recollection, Gracie and I have been to every one (Erin took Grace last year because I was in Halifax).

I love the expression on Matt's face in the photo below. He was so focused on getting this pumpkin to the car.

Here's Gracie selecting her pumpkin.

You can view my Flickr photo set to see all the photos.

Trouble By Two

2006-10-23T12:49:00.000-06:00

Matt and Nathan sitting on the Ritchie's front step.

October 18, 2006

2006-10-18T21:38:00.000-06:00

We had some excitement on Sunday when Matt went over the handle bars of his bike and knocked his two front teeth out of thier sockets.

It began on Saturday when he went over the handle bars of his bike for the first time and got an inordinately large fat top lip. It looked really strange, and was quite painfull, but his teeth stayed were un-affected. The thought occured to me to take a photo of his lip, but at the time I couldn't muster the energy.

On Sunday morning after a good nights rest the swelling in his lip had decreased dramatically, and he was looking almost normal. After returning from chuch the kids got on thier bikes and begged me to come outside to watch them ride (as yet, even though they can ride thier bikes un-assisted, they for some reason are not able to ride un-supervised). I got up to go outside, and the moment I opened the garage door (literally) I saw Matt, who was riding his tricycle for some reason, turn sharply uphill towards the house on the driveway. The sharpness of his turn caused the trike to fall over an Matt fell teeth first onto the pavement.

He began crying instantly, and from the steps in the garage I could see blood pouring out of his mouth. I ran down to him and somehow knew that this was worse than the fall he took the day before. I scooped him off the ground and rushed him into the house to clean the blood out of his mouth and inspect the damage. I felt sick when I saw one of his front teeth pushed abnormally back toward the inside of his mouth about 4 millimeters, and down towards his bottom teeth about 3 millimeters -- it looked really painfull and (now that the episode is over) quite strange.

I held Matt tight in my arms and got him into the van. Erin woke up Hannah (who was napping innocently) and put the two girls in the van so we could drop them off at Lara's house and get Matt some medical attention. My first thougth was to go to the children's hospital, but thankfully Sean was able see Matt at his office.

In the car ride to Sean's office Matt started to calm down somewhat, but would randomly burst out in tears of pain. It made me feel sick to think of the strange, painfull discomfort that he must have felt when he relaxed his jaw and his mouth began to close on teeth that weren't set right.

Fortunately, when we got Sean's office and sat in his dentist chair Matt's teeth had already set back in thier sockets. Sean said that it's likely that Matt pushed them back into thier sockets by pressing his tongue on the back of his teeth. We're just glad we didn't have to anesthetize Matt and push the teeth back in manually.

When all is said and done, his teeth, now back in thier sockets, are noticably lower than they were before the accident. Before his accident, Matt's teeth had molded around his pacifier so that his bite formed an eliptical void in the center of his mouth. Today, his front teeth have droped down, and the elipse is no longer visible. Also, the pain in his mouth caused him to not want to use his pacifier. Strangely this accident has corrected his bite, and gotten him off his binki (pacifier).

Grace and Matt Learn to Ride a "Two Wheeler"

2006-10-09T10:59:00.000-06:00

While we were vacationing in Utah, Matt and Grace both learned to ride a two wheel bicycle. Matt learned first -- probably by watching his older cousin Nathan. Matt got on Nathan's bike and I pushed him up and down the street not more than three times before I was letting go and Matt was pushing himself. In another 20 minutes, Matt was able to ride the whole lenght of the street on his own, and only needed my help to turn the bike around at the end of the street to start pedaling back.

See the flickr photoset (detail)

The next day, Gracie showed some interest in riding the two wheeler. I think she gained confidence by observing Matt. I asked her if she wanted to try, and she nodded yes -- half hesitant, half not wanting to be shown up by her younger brother. Gracie learned more quickly than Matt. She was pedaling unassisted on her second attempt, and was able to turn the bike around within a few minutes.

Since returning from Utah, all the kids want to do is ride bikes. It's driving me crazy. We spent about 3 hours outside riding bikes yesterday, and more than an hour this morning (in 10 degree Celsius whether).

Grand Canyon 2006 (GC06)

2006-10-04T17:08:00.000-06:00

On Monday October 2nd, 2006 I fulfilled a dream I've had for almost ten years -- I hiked into the Grand Canyon.

See my photos of the Grand Canyon (photoset, slideshow).
See my photos of Zions Canyon (photoset, slideshow).

Two years ago, on the Ribbon Creek trail with Sean, Mike Gedlaman, Randy Fibke and Derek Kearl, I suggested that we do our hike the following year in the Grand Canyon. My suggestion didn't get much support, but I sort of resolved in my mind that I was serious about going, and that I would find a way to make it happen.

Last year, on the same Ribbon Creek hike, I suggested it again (with the same group of hikers) and Sean and Mike agreed to go. I started to do the research, and learned that a backcountry permit was required to spend the night in the Canyon, and that backcountry permits could be obtained on a first come first serve basis not earlier than four months before the desired start date. As the four month mark got nearer, the four or five people that had shown interest began to drop out one by one. Sean booked a trip to Hawaii, Mike spent his vacation allotment in other ways and didn’t have enough vacation time to make the trip. Kevin was totally committed in the beginning, but through some miscommunication between he and I, he ended up deciding against it (he thought I had decided not to go, and then he made other plans). Jeff Shipley and JD Taylor also couldn’t come – Jeff got a new job, and JD ended up have to make two trips to Utah in 30 days.

In mid September I still had not obtained a backcountry permit, but was resolved as ever that I was going to make it to the Grand Canyon. Erin made me promise that I wouldn’t go alone, and I’m glad it didn’t come to that because I may still have gone – even on my own. This trip had become a bit of a promise to myself that I had to keep.

In mid September I called David Waite (a missionary companion of mine who grew up in Bunkerville Nevada, and who now resides in Salt Lake) to ask if he was interested. I regret not calling David earlier – I’m not sure why it didn’t occur to me earlier in the trip planning stage. Had I called him in March, I likely could have obtained an overnight permit in time and would have had an overnight stay at Phantom Ranch. Regardless, David agreed to come but required some careful planning as only 30 days earlier his parent’s home in Bunkerville, the home he grew up in, was burned in an electrical fire.

On Thursday September 29th Erin, the kids, and I got in the car and started the 15 hour trip to Salt Lake City where I would attend the LDS General Conference on Saturday and Sunday, then leave my family in Salt Lake with Erin’s sister Amy and continue on to Knabb, Utah (40 miles North of the Grand Canyon) with David Waite to spend the night on Sunday evening before entering the Grand Canyon. On Sunday morning while sitting the LDS Conference Center waiting for the conference to begin, I struck up a conversation with a fellow seated next to me who coincidentally had been to the Grand Canyon. He gave me some advice, and ended by saying that if we could at all spare the time, we should get to Zion National Park. He told me he enjoyed Zion’s more that he enjoyed the Grand Canyon. This was very intriguing to me, and I decided that on our way home from Bunkerville, I would suggest to David that we drive through Zion National Park. My seatmate at conference proved to be right about which Canyon was more amazing.

Matthew had a major breakdown when I left on Sunday evening, and when I got into the car I had private teary moment. It was so hard to leave Matthew in that condition. I tried not to let David see me like that, but David knew, and kindly offered to cancel to trip. As hard as it was to leave – I knew Matt would be over his fit only a few minutes after I left, and I couldn’t break my promise to make it to the Grand Canyon. Honestly, I wanted to cancel the trip and stay with Matt.

We arrived in Knabb late Sunday evening. David and I visited for the entire 4.5 hour trip. It felt like about 45 minutes. It just flew by.

Monday morning we woke up at 6:30 AM and were on the road by 7:00 AM. We arrived at the North Rim entrance to the Grand Canyon at roughly 8:30 AM local time, and we were hiking the roaring springs trail by 9:30 AM. We visited with the park ranger at the entrance to the park for about 20 minutes and explained that we only had the 1 day in the park and had to be to St. George Utah by dark. She recommended the Roaring Springs trail, and suggested we stop at Supai Tunnel, then hike back out and drive to Imperial Point and head south and stop at each of the lookouts. She further recommended that we do the 4 mile hike out to Cape Final, and she told us that this was the most spectacular view in the Canyon, North or South Rim.

We took the rangers advice and started hiked Roaring Springs and Cape Final and stopped at 3 overlooks in between.

We started out down the roaring springs trail, and after about 20 minutes of downward hiking, we came to Coconino Lookout – our first real view of the Canyon. I did it. I made it to the Canyon after 10 years of thinking about it. It was an amazing feeling to actually be there. The vista was amazing, but the sense of accomplishment was far more satisfying. I could have turned around at that point and gone home a happy man.

The Canyon is amazing. I can’t describe how vast and majestic it really is. The best views of the Canyon were actually not from down inside the Canyon – but rather from the several lookout points (Imperial Point, Angels Lookout, Cape Final and Cape Royal). I got lots of great photos, although there was a fire at the South Rim which sent smoke and haze through the whole Canyon -- unfortunate, but not devastating.

After spending the day in the Grand Canyon National Park we packed up and drove to Bunkerville, Nevada just outside of Mesquite (a popular golf and gambling destination) where I met David’s family for the first time after having heard stories about them since 1994, 12 years ago.

David’s family is remarkable! We stayed in his brother Stephen’s home, as his parents home is uninhabitable as a result of the fire. I was greeted very warmly by everyone, and David’s mother called me “Scotty” the whole night (I loved it!). We had pizza for dinner and a lovely family home evening after dinner. Stephen and Emily Waite have a beautiful home inside and out. Emily is clearly a very talented home decorator and mother. I also met David’s sister Krechele again (I had met her at BYU almost 10 years ago, right after my mission), and Krechele’s husband Craig, and children Sarah and Matthew. Krechele’s Matthew reminded my own Matthew.

The next morning we arose at 6:30, had breakfast, and then David gave me the penny tour of Bunkerville. Which, as I had suspected, didn’t take long. I hugged Mama Waite and we were off to Zion National Park.

In a word, Zion National Park is AMAZING. Truthfully, it proved to be far more spectacular than the Grand Canyon, and I am so glad we decided to spend some time there. We arrived and went to the visitor center and spoke with a park rangers about what hike we could do in just a few hours. He recommended Angels Landing, and told us that it fit our time constraints, but the last half mile was difficult and not for the faint of heart. The trail description in the trail guide says this about Angels Landing,

Strenuous. Long drop-offs and narrow trail. Not for anyone fearful of heights. Ends at summit high above Zion Canyon. Last 0.5 miles follows steep, narrow ridge; chains have been added.

We boarded the shuttle and took off for Angels Landing.

We kept pretty a pretty fast pace for the first mile or so, hiking quickly and passing dozens of other hikers. We hiked quickly because I was trying to be back in Salt Lake at 8:00 PM and it was a four hour drive from Zion to Salt Lake. It also been my experience that I’m no more or less tired after the mid-point of the hike regardless of the speed of the hike. This may seem illogical, but I think David would agree.

After slowing our pace and taking a brief rest, I spotted the mountain peak and became a bit nervous and a bit excited about arriving there. The trail is beautifully maintained, and paved for most of its five miles. I kept commenting to David that I had never hiked such a well manicured trail of this difficulty. There were decorative retaining walls, and paved trails, and friendly signposts etc… The trail was full of switchbacks, that wound back and forth along the perimeter of the mountain, frequently taking us out to the edge of the Canyon for some spectacular views. The weather was excellent, about 30 degrees Celsius.

As we approached Scouts Landing we passed a group coming down the trail who heard us make a humorous complaint about the increasing pitch of the trail. One of the men in the group, in his late twenties said something about how it only gets more difficult the further up you get. I commented back that we love difficulty, and that’s what keeps us hiking. He sarcastically said something like, “we’ll if you’re that comfortable with difficulty, you’re going to love it up there – you’ll be so at ease you’ll take a nap.” Sensing that it was going to get difficult, I stopped and had David promise me he wouldn’t let me back out if it got steep, or if my fear of heights started taking over. I said, “David… we’re going to get close to the top and I’m going to start getting afraid of heights. Don’t let me chicken out – get me to the top and I’ll get you to the top.” We promised each other then we continued on.

Not five minutes after our empty promise to each other we came to Scouts Landing and could see the last half mile to the summit. My heart sank. Instantly my fear of heights took over and I began to doubt that I’d make it to the top. I could see why the trail guide said that this hike is, “not for anyone fearful of heights”. From Scouts Landing the trail narrows to less than five feet wide in most places, and becomes very narrow with 1488 foot sheer drops on either side.

There are chains punched into the horizontal parts of the trail that continue from Scouts Landing to the top at Angels Landing. I could see people who looked like little sheep moving slowly along the chains, bending over and crouching down to hold on. I felt sick. David moved over to the side of the rock to look over the edge. I felt sick. David asked for the camera to take a couple of photos of what he could see off the side. I felt sick.

We agreed to have some lunch to and wait to see if I could acclimatize to the height. I couldn’t. We ended up spending about 30 minutes at Scouts Landing and in the end I didn’t have it in me to make it to the top. I admit I was a bit frustrated when I spotted a woman who appeared to be roughly 70 years old coming off the chains after having successfully been to the top. My frustration was compounded when I saw a nine year old boy bounding down not even holding the chains. I did manage to crawl over to the edge of Scouts Landing and peek over the edge for about five seconds. I quickly returned to the middle of the rock, and re-centered.

The hike down was very enjoyable. We stopped frequently for a picture and I just couldn’t get over how amazing the Canyon was. I decided that I really wanted to come back to Zions and spend more time hiking the Canyons, and maybe attempt an Angels Landing summit again. David and I spoke about making this a yearly trip and spend some time at Bryce Canyon next time.

We got in the car and started the trip back to Salt Lake (only after a stopover in St. George for something to eat at Café Rio). We arrived in Salt Lake at about 8:30, pretty close to our forecasted time. Matt came bounding out of the house and hugged me for about three minutes. I hugged him back.

So I made it to the Grand Canyon – I did it, and I was pleasantly surprised by Zion Canyon National Park. I can scratch the GC off my life’s list of things to do. Next up, Florence.

Hannah at the Office Window

2006-09-24T18:46:00.000-06:00

Hannah came to the window of my home office while I was working the other day. She was so cute, I just had to stop for a few photos.

Best Bush Impersonator Ever!

2006-09-19T17:19:00.000-06:00

Welcome JD Taylor to the World of Blogging

2006-09-18T16:56:00.000-06:00

I hung out with JD today for a bit, and he showed me his new blog taylormadetimes.blogspot.com.

I knew it was only a matter of time.

I am all alone and loving it!

2006-09-14T10:16:00.000-06:00

Well we have started school and preschool. Gracie is in grade 1 and matt started his first day of preschool today. I have really enjoyed the last hour and a half because Hannah is sleeping so I have been all alone to do what I want. Gracie is finally getting used to school. I took Hannah in to wake her up this morning and I have to say it was our happiest morning yet. Gracie loves her little sister and waking up to her in the morning is much better than waking up to me. I think Hannah will wake her up everyday.

I am enjoying the new schedule except for the very hectic time of getting gracie at lunch with all three kids and taking her back with all three kids and picking her up after school with all three kids. Sounds fun ey! All kidding aside I do like the schedule...the kids are in bed before nine and that's good because all the shows are starting!!! Speaking of shows I watched the premiere of dancing with the Stars on tuesday and wednesday. I was surprised how light on his feet Emmet Smith is wow!

Scott's GC06 trip is officially on!! That is Grand Canyon 2006 for those who don't know. We are heading to Utah in two weeks and going to conference then Scott and his mission friend David Waite are travelling to the Grand Canyon for a few days while I stay with Amy and Brad. We are all excited to go it should be a great time. I hope the kids are good for me though!! Of course I will eat Cafe Rio for all who want me to! I have to try cold stone this time too because I have never been and everyone says it is awesome!!

It's time to get ready to go get matt from school and sadly the alone time is over until 9:00!!

Greg Melchin Annual BBQ

2006-09-10T22:18:00.000-06:00

We attended Greg's annual BBQ on Saturday (see the flickr photo set here)-- held next to the Bow River at the Shriner's park. Basically the same thing as years past, but the attendance seems to grow each year. Several of the PC leadership candidates attended and spoke to the group.

Certainly the highlight for our family was the face painting. Grace and Matt had thier faces paited by a very talented face painter.

The Peacegiver

2006-09-10T21:52:00.000-06:00

I recently re-read portions of "The Peacegiver" and was struck again by the depth of this statement,

"Being mistreated is the most important condition of mortality, for eternity depends on how we view those who mistreat us.”

Remarkable!

Appreciate What You Have

2006-09-09T12:04:00.000-06:00

What if the popculation of the earth was reduced to 100 people (keeping the same demographics, ethnicity, socio-economic status, religion, culture etc...)? This brief slideshow attempts to answer this questions, and presents an interesting perspective along the way. Though I'm not big on the dramatic effect slideshows like this try to create, the information is interesting, and the final message, "appreciate what you have" is good.

Tuscany Ward Corn Bust and Chili Cook-off

2006-09-04T21:05:00.000-06:00

We had a nice time at the 1^st Annual Tuscany Ward Corn Bust and Chili Cook-off today. It was an excellent day, and a very well attended event. There were lots of games for the kids, and of course who doesn't love corn on the cobb.

There was also a chili "cook-off" -- I'd guess about 20 people prepared entries, including Erin and I (that is, my contribution was to sign us up, Erin's contribution was to make the chili).

Richard Young performed a magic show, which was very well recieved by all the kids. My hat goes off to anyone who can hold the attention of 75 kids aged 2-18 for 40 minutes. The guy is simply amazing.

After the party, we came home and decided to meet the my folks and Erin's folks for some Dairy Queen. Matt brought his "purse" full of change and bougth pony rides on the mechanical pony for all the kids.

Big day tomorrow -- Gracie's first day of grade 1.

Spread FireFox

2006-08-31T18:29:00.000-06:00

Another reason why I prefer FireFox.